Music School

Besides freelance teaching, I have started giving instruction at Sovi Music School located about a 10 minute walk from my place. Anyone interested to learn in a studio setting most welcome to register and request for my services.

Hear thee, hear thee

Students come and go, business rises and falls. All part of life and making a living. These days the dust in switching careers is beginning to settle. Sometimes having a more stable routine is good, but the freedom to be flexible is even better. Free will is such a wonderful gift.

Yes!

Got a new student starting next week! :-)

The Business of Teaching

Now I understand why people say teaching doesn't pay. Come summer, and students take off for one/two months.

Nonetheless, the process and joy experienced in training a child to become an independent, motivated pianist who simply enjoys his/her learning is quite something to relish. For the first time today I had an 8 year old girl tell me "finished already?? -- Today's lesson seemed so short..."

Children can be real brats at times, but it is the small things they do that make you smile. One of my students on summer vacation now is a bossy little 5 year old girl, but about a month back, she decided that "Teacher Millie" is quite alright, and gave me a big fat hug at the end of the lesson. :-)

So well, despite the lack of dough, I will persevere. After all, what is needed is just to FIND MORE STUDENTS!!!

Lost 3

Down to 7. :-(
Adults have been shown to demonstrate less commitment than children.

Breaking a Ten

It's exactly 2 months since finding 10 students. Then because of my vacation back in April I've been sitting on making further efforts to recruit more students. Inertia is not a good permanent place to be, so I've resolved to do something about it after this weekend. Enjoying it while it lasts. :-)

No Pay Leave

Working freelance has a downside. No work, no pay.
So I discovered after taking a week-long vacation to the Philippines, and falling sick after getting back. After spending money during vacation, it was no fun battling illness today to earn some dough back. If my current chest congestion doesn't go away after tonight's rest I might go see a doctor tomorrow, which means spending more money, and probably earning less (if I don't feel well enough to make it for lessons).
The old adage that every job has its pros and cons rings true...

A Whole 10

Yes I know, it's been awhile since I posted anything. I've been really busy transiting, to be honest, just getting used to a new routine and schedule. Lots more running around, but all good and interesting.
I now have 10 students. It's almost impossible to keep track of everyone of them nowadays. I have to diligently refer to their notebooks each time we have a lesson to remind myself what we did the previous week. Lots of interesting experiences really, but will share them more when I've had time to consolidate my thoughts and see some sort of pattern beyond 'do re mi'.

Perfect 7

I now have 7 students. How it went from 1 to 7 so quickly must surely be God's blessings. A few would start mid-February just after I leave my current work. The rest would start in March.
But yes, SEVEN is a great number to begin with, and hopefully with more focused efforts in the near future, more would come.

Why Teach?

This happened at the cocktail reception of my cousin's wedding two weeks ago. His niece, (my niece too), cajoled me into playing the piano sitting idle, whilst guests mingled with their drinks and slowly took their seats in the ballroom. I used to teach this niece and her brother before their family moved to Punggol which was too far for me to travel weekly. That was a good 4-5 years ago and she hadn't heard me play for awhile.
My niece watched with fascination as I played, and when I ended the first piece she blurted out, "Auntie, you really enjoy playing the piano, don't you?"
I smiled at her and nodded, proceeding to the next piece.
A small crowd had gathered around the baby grand, and as I ceded to some song requests, my niece told someone standing next to her, "I'm proud to say this was my teacher."
I almost stopped playing just to hug her.

After 3 Months

I'm quite pleased to update that after 3 months my student has learnt just about all the scales she needs to know for the Grade 1 examinations. In addition, she has started learning 2 out of 3 exam pieces, and is making fine progress in them. I'm quite confident that she should have no problems passing the exams for Grade 1 later this year.

With the new work situation I'm facing now I'm looking to actively source for students to teach on a private basis, to see if I can build up a base before leaving. So if anyone knows of people who want to learn piano (children of all ages, even adults), do help put us in touch, and I'll be happy to offer my services. Especially if they live in the western part of Singapore. :-)